You Belong With Me (A Sequel to "What Once Was")

23 coming around

"Holy shit," I said, not even being able to stop the words from coming out of my mouth after what my dad had just told me.

In the final game, which was to be played in January, we were facing off against Beverley, Cato's school. My dad had just found out moments into our way home.

So when I hung out with Ryder the following day, I made sure to tell him.

"Did you see who you're playing?" I asked as we decorated the Christmas tree at his house.

He shook his head. "Who?"

"Beverley."

Ryder chuckled. "Well, how do you feel about that?"

"I mean, no different really. It's just the fact it's Beverley."

"No, yeah. I get that. Well, I'll try my hardest to beat them."

I smiled and said, "which I think you can do. Beverly is an offensive team, while we are both. That doesn't mean their defense is terrible, but they don't spend time on it," I explained.

And that was the truth. When I went there, I noticed how strong their offense was. It works most of the time though, that is if your offense is strong enough.

However, lacking a defense can really suck when it comes to playing teams like ours.

After all, with our defense being considered one of the best, we will definitely put a lot of pressure on Cato and his teammates.

-

Although, before we knew it, we were speeding into Christmas break. We just had our first soccer game the night before the weekend going into the break, and we had won. It was a good game as we won 4-0.

Aside from soccer, the football team practiced every day during the break. I went to most of them so I could work with Ryder. The practices were not mandatory either, but just about all the players showed up.

However, my dad did decide to do a dinner for all the families because the team has been working so hard over break, and honestly because everyone has grown so close together.

As I got dressed, Lacey was curling her hair. She had come over because Braxton would be here.

"So you're positive your dad doesn't know about you and Ryder?" she asked.

I shook my head. "It almost feels like he encourages us to be together, but I'm actually terrified to tell him because we all know how that could go."

She sucked in her breath. "Right... but I think you should just tell him. It's clear he likes Ryder now."

"Yeah, but I worry about the what-ifs. I can't lose Ryder again."

Lacey smiled softly. "I love how much you two love each other."

"Stop, I think the same about you and Braxton."

"Ugh. They both got so lucky. I hope they understand that."

I laughed loudly and walked over to where Lacey sat at the vanity. I wrapped my arms around her neck and rested my chin on the top of her head. "Damn right. Just look at how hot we are."

"Girls! Some people are here for you!" came the voice of my mom.

Lacey and I shared big smiles and did a last minute scramble to get ready. After which, we hurried downstairs. Ryder and Braxton's families were in the living room.

"Well, don't you look gorgeous," said Ryder as I approached him. I put on a smile and stepped into his embrace. "I love you," he whispered into my ear as we hugged.